Card filing equipment



June 7, 1949. e. c. BRUEN CAI-(D FILING EQUIPMENT Filed Aug. 4, 1945 June 7, 1949. e. c. BRUEN 2,472, 6

CARD FILING EQUIPMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 4, 1945 k wij i Hi .I

II N V N June 7, 1949. G. BRUEN 2,472,567

FILING EQUIPMENT I Filed 4, 945 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 geaye G.@/1/ a/o Patented June 7, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE CARD FILING EQUIPMENT Application August 4, 1945, Serial No. 608,911

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to card filing equipment, and is particularly concerned with card filing trays of the type which are adapted to form a removable part of some more complex support, such as a wheel, or which are adapted to be used separately as card filing units, to be supported upon a desk or any other work support.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved form of card filing tray which is so constructed that the cards may be conveniently removed, one by one, or in a separate stack of cards, or all of the cards may be removed in their entirety with the securing devices that are removably carried by the tray.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved card filing equipment having removable card-supporting devices which are adapted to support cards of the type having one or more apertures and a slot, or which are merely provided with a round aperture.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved form of portable card tray which is provided with end walls that are adapted to support the cards in conventional open book form at practically any point where the operator may separate the cards.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved card tray which utilizes a minimum amount of critical materials, such as metals, and which is adapted to be constructed at a very low cost, so that it may be sold within a price range that makes it available to a vast number of users.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved card tray which is sturdy, simple in construction, provided with a removable cardsecuring unit, and which is adapted to support a. maximum number of cards in position for convenient use at a minimum expense.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved card tray structures in which the cards may be wholly supported on the supporting rails or rods which provide a minimum area of contact and a minimum amount of friction to the movement of the cards, as distinguished from the devices in which the cards engage the base of the tray as well, which greatly increases the friction to the movement of cards.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from'the following description 2 I and the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, of which there are three sheets,

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a card tray embodying the invention, equipped with two types of cards;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the left end of the tray of Fig. 1, in partial section, on the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal elevational view in partial section, taken on the plane of the line 33 of Fi 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view, taken on the plane of the line i-4 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional View, taken on the plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken on the plane of the line 66 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken on the plane of the line 1-7 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the cards and card-supporting unit, removed from the tray.

Referring to Fig. 1, iii indicates in its entirety a tray assembly which is provided with the cardsecuring and supporting unit it for carrying a plurality of different types of cards 52, IS. The tray proper, indicated at it, preferably consists of a substantially rectangular base I5, which may be constructed of various materials, preferably nonmetailic, such as plastic, and the base is provided with a pair of diagonally and outwardly extending end walls I5, I].

The end wall-s it, I! comprise plastic members, which preferably taper from the bottom toward the top in thickness, and the end walls are preferably substantially rectangular in elevation. The outer surface of each end wall may be provided with a substantially horizontal rib i8 located in a middle position with respect to the top and bottom of each end wall, and below the rib [8 each end Wall may have a depression or enlarged groove I9 that is capable of receiving the fingers and permitting the operator to grasp the-end Wall more firmly.

Thus the hand may be applied by placing the thumb over the top and on the inside fiat surface of an end wall, the fingers extending downwardly on the outside over the rib l8 into the groove l9. Each end wall [6 or I! is provided with a lower horizontalattachinggsurfiacefll and a vertical attaching surface 22 forengagingmhe end of the base l5, and the surfaces 2|, 22 are at right angles to each other and so oriented with respect to the inner surface 20 of the ,end wall that the inner surface 20 extends diagonally-upward and outward when thetbase .|5.fits.into the corner that is provided by.the surfzaces 2lfl22.

The end walls may be securedzto'ithezbase by a plurality of screws 23, which passrthrough-apertures 24 in the base and iar-e threaded into the end wall.

The end walls l6, I! are preferably recessedat the lower part of their innerjdiagonal.surfacesgZU to provide suitable supports .and-securingmeans;

for holding the card-supporting -.-and tsecuring unit I I.

The card-securing unit H may consist "of a round rod of metal or a suitable heattmoldable plastic, such as Lucite, which is bent to substantially U shape, having a substantially straight yoke 25 and a pair. of para1lel-legs"25,'2'1.

The yoke 25- is adapted to be received'inahorizontally extending roove "23locate'dvinthe end wall-ll. The groove 28 may be of substantially rectangular shapein cross section, .as-shown'in Fig. 3, and it maybe deep enou h toreceive the yoke 25 and a small portion of the adjacent leg portions 26,21.

The groove 28 is preferablylocatedat such an elevation abovethe base ,l5-that the rod legs 26, 27 arelocated to engage thetops of the apertures 29 in the cards when the cardsare supported on the tray.

The other end wall [6. has.its.inner.,surface:2ll provided with ,apair of inwardly. extending horizontal bores 30, 3| '1ocated. to receive.the,ends of the rod legs 26, v2'! .Whentheyoke 25-is1bottomed in the groove 28.

The end wall I6 is also,provided,witnahorizontally extending groove .32, .which .is preferably rectangularincross sectionandlocated immediately above the bor,es,30,,3| .thatreceive the legs 26,,21. The.groove.32 is adapted to -receive the latching member 3.3,comprising a-metal bar which is carried by a spring.presse.d p1unger.- 34.

Thebar 33 preferably has in.the:end;adjacent the groove.32. across slot. of a sizato-receivegthe bar'33, which bar extends through -.the ;slot-.with a tight frictional fit and is secured .therewith.' by soldering, welding, or other convenient fastening means.

,In order to accommodatetheyplungere34 :the end wall 16 is alsoprovided withaathrough bore 3? and a counterbore .38. Thecounterbore 53.8 has a metal washer 39 at .its-end-to provide .a seat for the helical compression spring'-40,-;whi ch urges the latching bar 33 into latching position.

The plunger 34 extends through the'bore .31 and is preferablyprovided witha-reducedthreaded portion 4| thatis-threaded into-a threaded bore .42 in a-knob v43 of Wood or initiallylheat moldable plastic .or other suitable qmaterial.

The depth of the groovet32 ,is sufiicient-toreceive the bar 33 when the plunger. is pulled outward, and to permit the 1bar.3.3 .to clear-the ends of the legs 26,121. .fIhe .bores .30, .3I tare provided with vertical openings44. on.their.,upper side, these openings havinga vertical .Wall,4.5,.and comprising vertical grooves .whichlare ofth same 4 Width as the bores 30, 3|, so that when the plunger 34 and bar 33 are withdrawn, the legs 26, 21 may move upward out of the bores 30, 3| via the grooves 44.

In some embodiments of the invention I may dispense with: asbrace 46rwhich extends from one lleg..:2B1toithetother leg..21,and holds the legs in parallel position. Such a brace is unnecessary where the legs are made of stifi metal rod and adapted to hold their parallel position due to the strength of the yoke 25.

:Thettransversebrace 46 may consist of a strap of=the same.material as the legs 26, 2?, such as, forexample, metal; and this strap has a pair of upwardly turned end portions 41, 48 which are secured inthe narrow slots 49 formed in the bottom of each leg 26, 21.

The. end portions 41, 48 may be held by a tight frictional fit in slots 49, or they may be soldered, welded, or otherwise secured therein.

The end portions 47, 48 are long enough so that the transverse body portion of the brace 46 is located'below the cards I2 or l3 when they are. mounted on the rod legs 26, 21. The thickness of the strap of which the brace 46 is made is preferably such that the vertically extendin portions 41, 48 are adapted topass 'theslotsfiil in'the cards with a clearance.

"When the transverse brace 46 is omitted,.the present card-supporting and securing unit may be used with cards having only round holesand having no slots 50. The cards utilized with my tray may be of any desired size, but theyare preferably large enough in relationto the spacing of the legs 26, 21,50 that a pair of apertures.29 may be provided, having downwardlyextending slots '50 for receiving the legs 23, '2? and brace portions 41, 48.

The apertures29 are preferably slightly Wider than the diameter ofthe legsZB, 2'! ina horizontal direction, butstill larger in sizein a vertical direction, so that these apertures areoval in shape and have a relatively largeclearance below the legs 26,21.

This permits any card to be supported on the rods26, 2'! ina diagonal position'substantially Darallelto theinside surfaces. 20 of the end walls [6, .l! without binding. .The oval aperture .29 corresponds to aidiagonal cross sectionof the iods.26,.21, .withan additional clearance about the rods.

.Each side. ofthe base.l.5.is preferablymabbeted atitsupper outercorner so that the baseisprovided with.edge.fianges.53 of reduced thickness, these flanges extending backward to the vertical surface 54. .The ends walls 16,:l1rnay besiznilarly ,rabbetedso that they are provided .with grooves 55, 56 on each side, and the edge flanges 53 may .thusbe usedas retaining member-star slidably engaging guides upomany kind ofa support, such asa supportingframe or a rotary. traysupporting member.

The .operation .of my tray .is substantially as follows: Each pack of cards .is -preferably,provided with .end plates 5i, 5210f similarsizeand shape .to the cards, and provided with similar apertures 29 ,ands1ots 50. Theseendplatesmay be madeofstiff ,fiber, such as indurated-fiber, and theyiare adapted ,to provide sameasure of protection .for the end=cardsand .to provide a backing against which the end cards may die, even when .the supporting and .securing "unit I Lisremoved from-the base of the tray.

.Th present card-supporting tray, is gportable, .as ,it .may .be carried .byeithem of .its-end walls,

which are conveniently shaped to be engaged by the hand and held by the ends of the fingers. The tray may be supported upon a desk or other work-supporting surface, or it may form a part of a rotary card filing apparatus, upon which it is secured.

When it is desired to refere to any of the cards, this may be done by means of suitable separators and indicia; and due to the shape of the apertures and rods relative to each other and to the diagonal supporting surfaces 28 on each of the end walls, the cards separate radially at any point like a book except that there is no curving of the cards, which extend diagonally upward on each side of the opening that is made in the stack.

This makes a very convenient assembly for reference and for making entries in the record, and saves a great deal of time.

The apertures 29 are preferably spaced from each other by a distance greater than the distance from either aperture to the edge of the card so that any card may be removed from the two legs 26, 2"! and displaced laterally toward the right or left in Fig. 1, and secured only upon one of the legs, with the card projecting laterally to give an indication of the condition of any account.

When it is desired to remove a pack of cards from the card-supporting and securing unit ii, that unit may be released by pulling on the plunger knob 43 until the legs 26, 2"! can be lifted. Then the cards in a stack may be slid endwise off the rods 26, 21.

If it is desired to remove one or more separate cards, this can be done by merely twisting the cards slightly and pulling upward, whereupon the curved bottom surfaces of the rods 26, 21 will cam the adjacent portions of the card upward at the slots 59 and permit the removal of a single card or a few cards.

When it is desired to remove the entire stack of cards from the tray, this may be done by pulling on the plunger knob 43 and lifting the legs 26, 21 out of their bores until the yoke 25 may be withdrawn from its slot 28 in the end wall l'l. Then the brace 48 may serve as a convenient handle by means of which the entire assembly of cards and the supporting unit H may be held in one hand, the yoke preventing the cards from sliding off the other ends of the legs 2B, 21.

The present card-supporting tray is simple and has a minimum number of parts, and utilizes a minimum amount of metal. Rods of thermally moldable plastic may be used instead of metal, thereby further reducing the need for metal in the manufacture of this device. Due to the simplicity of the device, it may be manufactured at a low cost, and it involves a minimum number of machining operations in its manufacture.

The tray is adapted to hold the cards whether they are in vertical position or whenever the tray is partially or wholly inverted, and whenever desired the complete card unit may be removed from the tray, or any number of cards may be removed in a stack, with a minimum amount of effort.

Another important feature of the invention, which may or may not be utilized in any of the modifications of this invention is the full support of the cards on the card supporting members 26, 21 out of contact with the upper surface M of the base Ill in such manner that there is no friction to the movement of cards between the base and the cards, and the friction involved in sliding one or more cards on the supporting members 26, 21 is very greatly reduced over the devices of the prior art. Since the apertures in these cards are larger than the round supporting members 26, 21, there is only a line of contact at the point of tangency between the aperture in the cards and the round supporting member.

In so far as one card is concerned, it is practically a point contact, and this greatly reduces the friction so that the cards slide readily from one plate to another when taken singly or in batches or handfuls. This is best illustrated in Fig. 3, where it can be seen that the bottom of the cards is out of contact with the upper surface M of the base, and also in Fig. 4.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A card filing tray comprising a base having a stable supporting surface, said base being provided at each of its ends with an upwardly extending wall member, a card supporting and securing unit removably mounted on said base, said unit including a rod extending longitudinally of and substantially parallel to said base and spaced therefrom, whereby a multiplicity of cards provided with apertures for receiving said rod may be slidably supported upon said rod in position to be opened at any convenient point for reference, the stacks of cards on either side of the opening resting against said end walls, said supporting and securing unit having its rod formed to substantially U shape with side legs and a yoke portion removably fitting into a slot type recess in one of said walls, said recess open ing longitudinally of the base, the ends of said U-shaped rod remote from the yoke portion engaging in recesses opening upwardly and longitudinally of the base at a distance therefrom in the other of said walls, a lateral brace extending between said side legs and having upwardly extending end flanges secured to the side legs near the ends thereof, said lateral brace providing support for the legs at substantially the level of the latter mentioned recesses, and the latter mentioned wall being provided with latching means including a movable latching bar for simultaneously engaging both ends of said rod, said latching bar having a latching position overlying the ends of said U-shaped rod in said recesses and a retracted position in which the said ends of the rods are removable from the recesses.

2. A card filing tray comprising a base having a stable supporting surface, said base being provided at each of its ends with an upwardly extending wall member, a card supporting and securing unit removably mounted on said base, said unit including a rod extending longitudinally of and substantially parallel to said base and spaced therefrom, whereby a multiplicity of cards provided with apertures for receiving said rod may be slidably supported upon said rod in position to be opened at any convenient point for reference, the stacks of cards on either side of the opening resting against said end walls, said supporting and securing unit having its rod formed to substantially U shape with a yoke portion removably fitting into a slot type recess in "arr-25067 one' ofnsaid walls; theends'ofi said= U-sh-aped 'ro'd =-engaging in-upwardlyand longitudinally opening -'recesses in the other of said walls, said latter wall being provided with latching means including a cross bar for simultaneously engaging both ends of said 'rod, said cross bar being=supported for linear =movement Y in arecess in =-sa-id *latter' wall by -a plunger extending through said wall and having-manually actuatable means on its exposed end; and-a spring biasingsaid cross bar to'a position overly-ing theends of said U-shape'd rod.

3. *A- card filing tray,'comprising a base having a stable supportingsurface, said base being provided ateach of its ends withan upwardly-extending wall member, a card'supporting-and securing :unit removably =mounted on said base, said unit ''including a longitudinallyextendin'g rod extending *substantially parallel'to said base and spaced therefrom, whereby a multiplicity of cards prov-ide'd with apertures for receiving said ro'd maybe slidably supported upon said-rod in position to be opened at'any convenient point for reference, the stacks-of cards on either side Gtthe openingresting against said-ends walls, said end walls being tapered from-the-bottom toward the top (and being v provided *with inner outwardly sloping plane surfaces for :-engaging the end-'cards and determining the 'open position' or the cards to which reference is made, said supporting and-securing unit comprisinga --rod or substantially U-shape,-theyok-e ofsaid U serving'to retain the cards on the unit when heldwith the legsextending upwardly, said unit'also-being provided =adjacent=the ends of saidlegs'with-a transversely=-extendingbrace having a body portion extending laterally between the "legs and their flanges secured at their ends "to the --legs to holdsaid body; portion in spaced relationship to the legs.

*4. A 'car'dfiling tray,- comprising a base having a-stable-- supporting-surface, -said*-basebe'ingprovided' at --each of its ends with-an upwardly-extending wall member, acard-supporting-and securing unit removably'mounted on said base; said unit including a longitudinally "extending ro'd :extending "substantially parallel to :said base "and spaced. therefrom, wherebya multiplicity of'car'ds provided with apertures 'for' receiving said lrod maybe slidably supported upon-said rod in position to .be opened at any convenient point for reference, the stacks of cards on eitherside of the opening residng against said end Walls, said end walls being taperedfrom'thebottomtoward the top'and'being provided-with inner outward-1y sloping plane surfaces" forengaging the'endcards and .determining the "open-position or the "cards to=which reference is made-said supporting and securing unit comprising a-rod of substantially U- shape, the yoke of said- U'servingtoretain' the cards on the unit when held with the 'legs extending upwardly,-said unit also'being provided adjacent the ends of said legs with a transversely "extending brace; said brace having a bo'dy'portion "carried by two upwardly extending flanges havingtheir ends-secured to the lateral mid-portions of the legs -on the sides thereof adjacent the base, said flanges being ofa length such that said body portion'clears the cards, and said flanges being adapted to bepassed-by slots in the-cards.

5. A card'filing apparatus, comprising-a'sub- 'stantially- U-shaped-rod memberformewwith a pair of parallel legs joined by a 'transversely extending brace made of relatively thin flat'strip materiahandlocated'near the ends of'saidlegs, said brace having a'bodyportion spaced below said legs by a pair of upwardly extending-attachingfflanges' having their ends secured to said legs with the planes of the flat strip material extending longitudinally along the' mid portions *of'the legs, said-body portion serving as-a handle and brace'for'maintaining theparal'lelism of said legs.

'6. A cardfi'lingappalatus, comprising '-a substantially U-shaped rod member formed with 'a pair of'parallel legs joined by a'transversely extending brace located near the endsof said legs, said brace "having a-bodyportion'spaced below said-legs by a pair-of upwardly extending attaching flanges secured to said=legs,-saidbody portion serving as a handle and brace for maintaining the parallelism of said legs, said legs being slotted to receive the ends -of said securing flanges, which are located in said slots.

GEORGE'C. BRUEN.

' REFERENCES 5 CITED The following references are ofrecord in the fileof thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 611,365 Hubbard Sept.'27,.1898

1,065,105 Best June 17,1913

435,351 Wagemaker .'Nov. 14, 1922 1,660,823 Thometz Feb. 28, 1928 FOREIGN zPATENTS Number Country Date 100,648 Australia Mar. 15, 1937 "241,282 Great Britain Oct. 19, 1924 451,419 Germany 'Oct. '27, 1927 "507,852 France July 7, 1920 

